Agenda and minutes
PDF 132 KBVenue: Ashcombe Suite, County Hall, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT1 2DN. View directions
Contact: Bryan Searle
| No. | Item |
|---|---|
|
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND SUBSTITUTIONS
Minutes: Apologies were received from Mark Brett-Warburton, Bill Chapman Stephen Cooksey and Denise Saliagopoulos
Fiona White substituted for Stephen Cooksey. |
|
|
MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING: 4 June 2014 & 16 June 2014
To agree the minutes as a true record of the meeting. Minutes:
The Minutes were agreed as accurate records of the meetings.
|
|
|
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests from Members in respect of any item to be considered at the meeting.
Notes: · In line with the Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012, declarations may relate to the interest of the member, or the member’s spouse or civil partner, or a person with whom the member is living as husband or wife, or a person with whom the member is living as if they were civil partners and the member is aware they have the interest. · Members need only disclose interests not currently listed on the Register of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests. · Members must notify the Monitoring Officer of any interests disclosed at the meeting so they may be added to the Register. · Members are reminded that they must not participate in any item where they have a disclosable pecuniary interest. Minutes: There were no declarations of interests.
|
|
|
QUESTIONS AND PETITIONS
To receive any questions or petitions.
Notes: 1. The deadline for Member’s questions is 12.00pm four working days before the meeting (26 June 2014). 2. The deadline for public questions is seven days before the meeting (25 June 2014). 3. The deadline for petitions was 14 days before the meeting, and no petitions have been received. Minutes: There were no questions or petitions.
|
|
|
RESPONSES FROM THE CABINET TO ISSUES REFERRED BY THE SELECT COMMITTEE
A response to the call in of the Cabinet decision, subject to the Committee’s consideration on 16 June 2014, is noted in the recommendations tracker. Minutes: The outcome from the Committee’s call-in of the Cabinet decision relating to the Grant Criteria and Funding Opportunities Guide was noted under item 6.
|
|
|
RECOMMENDATIONS TRACKER AND FORWARD WORK PROGRAMME
The Committee is asked to monitor progress on the implementation of recommendations from previous meetings, and to review its Forward Work Programme. Additional documents: Minutes: Declarations of interest: None
Witnesses: None.
Key points raised during the discussion:
1 In relation to the call-in of the Cabinet decision relating to the Grant Criteria and Funding Opportunities Guide (COSC 40), it was noted that, whilst the Cabinet supported the principle that high priority should be given to supporting the Family, Friends and Community Support Programme, it had not felt it appropriate to single-out specific programmes in the guide. The Committee’s other two recommendations were accepted, and the proposed changes to the Guide as a result of recommendation (b) would be shared with the Chairman of the Committee.
2 The Committee did not feel that the response from the Assistant Director of Schools & Learning in relation to COSC 41 adequately addressed its concerns about completion of the programme of works for the provision free infant school meals by 1 September 2014. It was therefore agreed that further clarification be sought about how many schools would meet the deadline and what interim measures would be put in place for any schools which would not be ready.
3 The Committee was concerned that the data about trends in staff costs and benchmarking data for staff above level S8 (COSC 47) which it requested at its meeting on 4 June 2014 had not been provided, and suggested that the Chairman write to the Chief Executive to request his support in ensuring that officers respond in a timely fashion to requests by the Committee.
4 It was agreed that the item on Welfare Reform, scheduled in the Committee’s work programme for September 2014, should be deferred to October 2014.
Recommendations:
(a) That the Assistant Director of Schools & Learning supply details of any schools which would not meet the deadline for the provision of free infant school meals by 1 September 2014, along with the interim measures which would be put in place. Action by: Bryan Searle
(b) That the Chairman write to the Chief Executive to request his support in ensuring that officers respond in a timely fashion to requests for information by the Committee. Action by: Nick Skellett/Bryan Searle
Actions/further information to be provided: None.
Committee next steps: None.
|
|
|
BUDGET MONITORING - MAY 2014
Purpose of report: Scrutiny of Services and Budgets
This report presents the revenue and capital budget monitoring up-date for May 2014 with projected year-end outturn. Additional documents: Minutes: Declarations of interest: None
Witnesses: Julie Fisher, Strategic Director for Business Services Sian Ferrison, Transformation and Development Manager
Key points raised during the discussion:
1 A report from the Committee’s Performance & Finance Sub-Group was tabled at the meeting. A copy of this report is included as an annex to these Minutes.
2 It was reported that the Sub-Group had been encouraged by the revised approach to achieving savings from the Family, Friends & Community Support programme and had recommended specific issues for the Adult Social Care Select Committee to consider as part of its review of the programme in September 2014.
3 The Committee noted that a mechanism had been put in place to track and monitor progress on the development and implementation of robust plans for achieving efficiencies across the whole Medium-Term Financial Plan period. Whilst the Sub-Group had heard from officers that the new process was robust, the Committee was concerned that the Cabinet’s agreement that to consult the Committee on the proposals for the mechanism had not been followed through.
4 It was highlighted that paragraph 2 and table 2 on page 31 of the report did not adequately explain the position in relation to reserves, as no mention was made of the additional £14M drawn down at the end of the previous financial year. It was agreed that further details would be circulated to the Committee.
Recommendation:
That the Adult Social Care Select Committee consider the following issues as part of its review of the Family, Friends & Community Support programme in September 2014:
·
The availability of community support
infrastructure in the County, both in terms of its ability to meet
a diverse range of needs and its geographical spread.
·
The impact on community support
capacity of a move by the Council towards contracts with community
groups instead of the payment of grants. · The variance in the availability of support between urban and rural areas in the County. Action by: Ross Pike
Actions/further information to be provided:
Further details about the position in relation to reserves, to reflect theadditional £14M drawn down at the end of the previous financial year, to be circulated to the Committee. Action by: Kevin Kilburn
Committee next steps: None.
|
|
|
CABINET MEMBER PRIORITIES 2014/15
Additional documents: Minutes: Declarations of interest: None
Witnesses:
Denise Le Gal, Cabinet Member for Business Services Julie Fisher, Strategic Director for Business Services
Key points raised during the discussion:
1 The Committee noted the following amendments to the objectives: bullet point 1 of objective 1 to read ‘Increase number of completed appraisals’; and the reference to recruiting a new Head of procurement on page 2 to be deleted.
2
It was noted that ensuring that the County Council was an
attractive employer was a key priority, particularly for those
services where there were staff shortages. It was agreed that an action should be included to
reflect the need to ensure that the recruitment process resulted in
tangible improvements in the services with the greatest need, such
as Adult Social Care. 3 Information Technology (IT) was considered by the Cabinet Member to be the top priority for the coming year, and she had been successful in securing an additional £2M funding for 2014/2015. The progress made in recent years in upgrading the Council’s IT was noted, although it was recognised that there was still progress to be made to ensure that the high level of investment was positively reflected in the experience of staff. It was therefore agreed that the third action in relation to objective 1 would be amended to read ‘Drive use of new technology and measure outcomes’.
4 The opportunity to scrutinise and challenge the Cabinet Member’s priorities was welcomed, although it was commented that the wording of some of the objectives would make it difficult to measure the outcomes for residents. It was noted that the objectives as written were intended to be high-level, and more detailed information would be circulated to the Committee. It was agreed that the Cabinet Member would report progress on her objectives to the Committee in early 2015.
Actions/further information to be provided:
The Cabinet Member objectives to be amended to address the points agreed above, and a more detailed version to be circulated to the Committee for information. Action by: Denise Le Gal
Committee next steps:
The Committee to review progress on the Cabinet Member’s objectives in early 2015.
|
|
|
DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of the Committee will be held at 10.30am on 11 September 2014. Minutes: The Committee noted the next meeting of the Council Overview and Scrutiny Committee would be on Thursday 11 September 2014 at 10.30am.
Meeting ended at: 1.12pm
|